Always
by caffeineisthenewblack
Summary: These are small pieces of their story. R/N Drabble fest. Please R&R!
1. Prologue - Pieces

**AN: Well I'm back with a new story. A series of Red/Nicky drabbles/short chapters that can stand alone but are still linked in some way. I hope you enjoy this. There are a few chapters and I hope to add more. If you like this story, please review!**

 **Prologue - "Pieces"**

 _ **Always.**_

That word was foreign to Nicky until Red came along.

If Red told her she would always be there, that she would always help her, and that she would always love her, Nicky couldn't help but believe her.

Red never let her down.

As much as Nicky found it hard to believe, Nicky never let Red down, either.

Good times. Bad times. Hard times. Fun times.

They had each other through it all.

These are small pieces of their story.


	2. Chapter One - Strawberries

**Chapter One - "Strawberries"**

Red huffed in frustration and growled dramatically. Didn't they have one god damn strawberry to spare at Neptune's?

She had specifically asked them for strawberries! They always managed to get her electric toothbrushes, and Biore strips, and all the other contraband she asked for within reason, but they couldn't give her the PRODUCE she asked for?

Tomorrow was Nicky's birthday, and Red knew that strawberries were Nicky's favorite. She just wanted to do something special for her, and that wasn't an easy feat when you were behind bars.

She was still digging through the boxes in a dramatic fashion when Nicky found her 20 minutes later.

"Ma? Whatcha doin'?"

Red jumped and spun around to face her. "Ummm...looking for...oh it's none of your business Nicky! What are you doing here anyway, hmm? Shouldn't you be at work?"

Nicky shrugged. "Red...it's 7 o'clock at night! No one is working right now!" She looked around. "You okay? You seem sort of ummm...frazzled?"

Red nodded. "Fine. I'm fine. Hey ummm...tomorrow is your birthday. Did you want anything special?"

Nicky's eyes softened. "Red...we're in prison. It's not like I expect a cake and a party along with an assortment of gifts consisting of clothing, concert tickets and the occasional sex toy."

Red rolled her eyes. "I know...but...if you _could_ have anything...what would it be?"

Nicky shrugged again. She knew Red was asking her a serious question. "I don't know...I guess...to get out of here?"

Red's face fell. It was quick and most wouldn't have noticed it, but Nicky did. She reached over and nudged her gently. "But only if you could come with me, of course!"

Red smiled and chuckled. "Yea...that would be nice, hmm? You think about it a lot? Getting out of here, I mean?"

Nicky nods. "All the time. Everyday almost. But then I..." She looked at Red who was looking at her expectantly. "...Nevermind."

"What? Then you what?"

Nicky shook her head. "It's silly."

Red sternly narrowed her eyes at her, which was enough to make anyone talk. "Then I realize that being here isn't so bad because I have you."

Red smiles, her eyes filling at Nicky's sweet words. "You'll always have me, little girl."

Nicky's face lit up, and she genuinely smiled at her. It was enough for Red to know that she would be making a phone call to Neptune's early tomorrow morning.

Nicky would have her strawberries for her birthday tomorrow. Red would make sure of that.


	3. Chapter Two - Dreams

**Chapter Two - "Dreams"**

Red had all kinds of dreams for herself when she was a little girl growing up in Russia.

She wanted to be famous, she wanted to fall in love and live happily ever after, and she wanted to have three little girls to call her own someday.

Needless to say, she wasn't able to make any of her dreams come true.

She didn't care about not becoming famous. That was a silly dream because after all, almost every little girl has that dream at some point in their lives. It was an easy one to let go of.

As far as falling in love and living happily ever after well, Red did fall in love. Once. But...she didn't live happily ever after with him. Happily ever after only happens in fairytales, which is something everyone finds out once life eats away at you and you are left feeling you came out on the other side with nothing to show for it. Dmitri was a nice man, a good man, a gentle man, but she didn't love him the way she loved Pavel, and she certainly didn't live happily ever after with him.

Red had three sons, not the three daughters she longed for as a little girl, and although she did love her sons with all her heart, and she knew that it was not anyone's fault what their genders ended up being, she couldn't help but long for that dream all her life.

Ironically, she didn't get her daughters until she came to Litchfield. And only one of them was as much a part of her as her sons were. She was a terror, and had a mouth on her, but she also had a heart of gold and insecurities she only let Red see.

It was easy to love Nicky. It had always been easy for her. _**Always.**_

It had been a bad day for her girl. Lorna had been released today, and as tough as she acted, and as tumultuous as their relationship had been, Red knew that her heart was broken.

She had crawled into Red's bunk that night, and rested her head on Red's lap. Words weren't needed as Nicky began to cry, and Red played with her hair. She had sort Red out, had needed her more than anything, and it meant the world to her.

Maybe dreams do come true after all.


	4. Chapter Three - 15 Minutes

**Chapter Three - "15 Minutes"**

Nicky leaned against the wall of the hallway, biting her thumbnail anxiously.

She was hovering nearby as Piper, Alex, Gina, Freida, Yoga, Boo, Demarco, Gloria, Sister Ingalls and of course Norma crowded around Red, fussing over her. Red looked happy, but overwhelmed at the attention she was receiving.

Red was being released this morning. Everyone would miss her. She had been here forever. Almost all of them had never known a day in this prison without Red's larger than life presence.

Nicky wanted Red to feel all the love she was receiving. She deserved it. As far as Nicky was concerned, she deserved the moon.

But at the same time, she wanted to grab her and scream at her and beg her not to leave her behind. How could she survive the remaining year of her sentence without Red? Just the thought of it was enough to make Nicky want to bury herself in heroin again and never come up for air.

Nicky looked up at the clock. It was 8:15 AM. In 15 minutes, Red would be gone.

She suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe and she wasn't sure if she would ever be able to again.

Before she knew what she was doing, she took off down the hall and ran towards the dorms. She didn't know why. She didn't want to. She wanted to say goodbye to Red. But at the same time, she didn't know how.

She made her way to Red's cube, and was relieved to see that it was empty. The bed was neatly made, and it was devoid of Red's pillow and blanket. It was a sign that Red was gone and she would never come back.

Nicky sank down onto the bed, and just stared straight ahead. She felt lost. She only had 15 minutes left and what did she do? She ran away. What if she didn't get the chance to say goodbye now? What the fuck was she doing?

She closed her eyes and took deep, cleansing breaths. She knew she had to get back out there. But for some reason, her body wouldn't move. She couldn't move.

She sat like that for a minute or so, and when she opened her eyes she looked up and saw Red staring down at her.

And for the first time since she was a little girl, she let herself fall apart.

Red was there to catch her before she sank down onto the floor, and despite her back pain, she knelt down on the floor in front of her girl, and let her melt into her arms.

Nicky's arms wrapped around Red's waist and she sobbed into her chest. She could feel Red's heartbeat. It made her feel safe. Would she ever feel safe again?

Red knew that their time together was running out. She looked up and saw CO Belle leaning against the cubicle with her arms crossed, an impatient scowl on her face.

Nicky's heart was breaking and Red wasn't sure if she could put it back together this time, but she would try. "Nicky...shhh...oh baby...this isn't goodbye, hmm? Me and you...we are forever. Come on, my girl...calm down."

Nicky shook her head. "I can't let go. If I let go then you'll be gone."

Red pulled back and cupped her hands around Nicky's cheeks, the same way she had done countless times before. "I'll never be gone from your life, _malyshka_. Never. I'm always gonna love you. This won't be easy for us, I know but...we will make it work, right? We can do anything, you and I."

Nicky nods. "I love you. I love you so much. I'm happy for you, I am. I just...I'll miss you so much."

Red kisses her forehead and nods, her own eyes filling with tears. "Me too, baby. But...we just have to take it one day at a time. You call me, and I'll come visit as often as I can. I promise you. And when it's your turn to get out of here, I'll be here to pick you up. I promise."

Nicky leans forward and presses her forehead against Red's. "You do?"

Red nods again. "I do. I love you, little girl. _**Always**_."


End file.
